The Mechanical Sky Series by Donald Moffitt

"Featuring an intriguing premise and an engagingly ingenuous hero, this sf adventure/intrigue belongs in most collections." - Library JournalFor a thousand years the Great Awakening has spread the teachings of Islam to all of the far corners of the known universe. Without a Caliph at its head, the great Muslim empire had been a disparate conglomerate of power, for no one ruler had been able to bridge the great inter-planetary distances to make the requisite pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca... more"Featuring an intriguing premise and an engagingly ingenuous hero, this sf adventure/intrigue belongs in most collections." - Library JournalFor a thousand years the Great Awakening has spread the teachings of Islam to all of the far corners of the known universe. Without a Caliph at its head, the great Muslim empire had been a disparate conglomerate of power, for no one ruler had been able to bridge the great inter-planetary distances to make the requisite pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Then the Emir of Mars announced his plans to undertake this most ambitious of journeys and win the prize of the Caliphate, and Mars is thrust into a frenzy of plots and intrigues. Young scientist Abdul Hamid-Jones is not interested enough in politics to see how any of this could affect him, but soon finds himself caught up in the web of court politics, with his life at stake because of what he knows!"This book is definitely a good read in the classic SF sense. May the beneficient Allah rain his blessings on Donald Moffitt, so that we see many more from this major and too-little-recognized talent!" - Eric S. Raymond less

The ambitious sultan of Alpha Centauri can only claim the illustrious title of Caliph if he makes a ritual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. This journey completed, he will rule the entire population of the greater Islamic universe. But human knowledge has not yet been able to overcome the significant challenges presented by interplanetary travel. However, the sultan resourcefully enlists the help of Abdul Hamid-Jones, a clever fugitive with a price on his head and the law at his heels... moreThe ambitious sultan of Alpha Centauri can only claim the illustrious title of Caliph if he makes a ritual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. This journey completed, he will rule the entire population of the greater Islamic universe. But human knowledge has not yet been able to overcome the significant challenges presented by interplanetary travel. However, the sultan resourcefully enlists the help of Abdul Hamid-Jones, a clever fugitive with a price on his head and the law at his heels. Thrown into the bewildering world of the sultan’s schemes, Abdul receives a hasty introduction to complex physics and the even-more-complex political intrigues of the sultan’s court. Responsible for the successful execution of the sultan’s plan, Abdul slowly realizes with horror that the fate of the entire solar system could be resting on his shoulders. less